As Hawkman’s quest to stop the Deathbringers continues, it takes him somewhere he never expected to be: Krypton. When it was revealed that Carter Hall has been reincarnating across not only time, but space as well, him being on Krypton was mentioned. Now we have the definitive answer that yes, Hawkman was present when Krypton died. However, unlike other incarnations throughout time, this version had one key difference: he knows exactly what’s going on.
(Spoilers Incoming)
As our version of Hawkman arrives in the void that once contained Krypton, he is pulled through time to the day the planet died. He arrives in a building and sees the Kryptonian version of himself, Catar-Ol. Catar says that he knows why Hawkman is there but cannot help him. Catar then explains to Carter who he is. He says that he is a historian that was trying to help the Kryptonian government stabilize the planet, but nothing he did helped. This is when Carter informs his other self that, despite Krypton dying, there are those that survive past the explosion. When he mentions Kal-El, Catar immediately makes the familial connection and reveals that Kara Zor-El is one of his students. He reveals to Carter that he and Kara had been working on a way to preserve the history of Krypton past the planet’s end. Carter then tells him that his student was able to live on and become a hero on Earth. Catar says that he knows what Carter being on Krypton must mean: the Deathbringers have returned.
Catar says that he knows about the Deathbringers but does not know what their connection is to them. After Carter explains their first life, Catar agrees to give him a weapon to kill the Deathbringers. Unfortunately, this weapon is the size of a city and incomplete, leaving Carter with no way of taking it with him or even using it. Carter then lets his frustration out on Catar, believing that this was his only shot at killing the Deathbringers. Catar replies, “…it occurs to me that I’m not the solution to your problem. You are.” He tells Carter that instead of seeking out a weapon, he needs to BE the weapon. Catar then claims that seeing Carter has given him hope, but at that moment, Carter is pulled back to the present. Carter vows to make sure that the fate of Krypton will not become Earth’s. At the same time, a portal in space near Earth opens, and three Deathbringers come out. “Earth…You have harbored the great betrayer. You will be judged. The Deathbringers have returned.”
The fight Hawkman feared is now right on Earth’s doorstep, but Hawkman is across the galaxy. Now, without any weapon to use other than himself, is there even a slim chance that he can stop these things? This issue not only sets up the fight between Hawkman and the Deathbringers, it raises the stakes by planting that fight in the middle of Earth. Seeing the Kryptonian version of Hawkman reacting so calmly to the entire situation compared to every other reaction Carter has been getting was a nice change. However, I can’t help but wonder if Supergirl remembers her time as his student. While it wouldn’t be a major story arc or anything, seeing a little exchange between Kara and Carter would be nice after the fight is over. After Rogol Zaar destroyed the Fortress of Solitude, perhaps the two of them can get together and work on recording the history of Krypton together.
It seems that time for Carter Hall has just run out. With Deathbringers just moments away from arriving on Earth, Hawkman had better come up with a plan now if we all don’t want to burn. The only question is what can Carter do? Unite his past selves? Call upon the heroes of Earth? Or perhaps, the answer doesn’t lie in the past or the present. The one place we haven’t seen him go is the future. Assuming that he’ll still be reincarnating in the future, maybe that is exactly what he needs to tip the scales in his favor. If Hawkman can run into a future version of himself, he can figure out how they defeated the Deathbringers. Just an idea from the mind of a sleep-deprived reader, but it’s an idea nonetheless. With the Deathbringers approaching though, Hawkman is going to have to pull some trick out of his sleeve quick if he’s going to save Earth from total destruction.